Noise Ordinances in Maryland (2026)

Annapolis cuts the legal decibel ceiling at 10 p.m. every night, dropping residential noise limits from 65 dBA to 55…

Anne Arundel County bans loud musical instruments, machines, or tools audible in a residential district between 10 p.m…

Baltimore County bans domestic noise, vocal, radio, instrument, or household-tool sound, that unreasonably disturbs…

Between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., Carroll County bars anyone from running a musical instrument, machine, tool…

Charles County splits its noise limits into two clocks: daytime runs 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and nighttime runs 10:00…

Frederick's noise ordinance splits the day into 'daytime hours,' 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and 'nighttime hours,' 10 p.m. to 7…

Harford County Code § 193-8 prohibits voices, radios, instruments, and household tools between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. when…

Because Howard County has essentially no incorporated towns, the County Code governs all residents including Columbia…

Montgomery County caps residential noise at 55 dBA at night (9 p.m.-7 a.m. weekdays, 9 p.m.-9 a.m. weekends) versus 65…

Prince George's County splits noise enforcement into two clocks, daytime from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and nighttime from 9…

Annapolis applies its citywide decibel-based noise ordinance to construction equipment: work sites must stay within the…

Anne Arundel County bans operating a machine, tool, or similar device at unreasonably loud volume in a residential…

Baltimore County's Title 3 noise code sets no specific countywide construction-hour window. Construction noise is…

Construction and demolition sites in Charles County may run up to 90 dBA between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on weekdays…

Frederick caps construction and demolition site noise at 90 dBA during daytime hours, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and drops to…

Construction and demolition noise in Howard County is governed by the state standard the County Code adopts. COMAR…

Construction noise in Montgomery County is capped at 75 dBA (85 dBA with an approved noise-suppression plan) between 7…

Prince George's County allows louder construction noise only during daytime work hours. From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m…

Washington County's Planned Industrial District zoning exempts temporary construction noise from the county's decibel…

Annapolis bans letting an animal disturb the quiet of a person or neighborhood, with a fine after one warning.

Anne Arundel County bans letting a dog bark, howl, or whine repeatedly enough to disturb neighbors, treating it as a…

Baltimore County has no separate barking-dog statute; persistent barking is enforced under the county's domestic noise…

Carroll County bars pet owners from letting an animal vocalize unreasonably enough to disturb neighbors day or night…

Cecil County bars owners from letting an animal continually disturb a neighborhood's quiet with frequent or…

Charles County treats a dog or other animal that barks or makes harsh, excessive noise disturbing a neighborhood's…

Frederick bans owning any animal that disturbs the peace by barking, howling, or other audible noise. Each violation is…

Continued, repeated barking, howling or whining from a dog (or other animal) that causes unreasonable annoyance or…

Harford County Code § 64-12 makes it unlawful to keep any animal, including a dog, in a way that causes it to make…

Howard County has no stand-alone barking-dog law. Instead, County Code § 17.302 lists a domesticated animal that…

Montgomery County Code Chapter 5 (Animal Control) prohibits owners from allowing animals to cause noise loud enough and…

Prince George's County Code § 19-122(b) makes it illegal to cause or permit noise that is a "noise disturbance," and §…

A Rockville pet whose barking, howling, or whining causes 'unreasonable annoyance' to neighbors is an animal nuisance…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, letting an animal disturb a neighborhood's peace with excessive barking, whining or…

Annapolis has banned gas-powered leaf blowers and leaf vacuums citywide since December 30, 2024, making all handheld…

Montgomery County bans the sale and use of combustion engine-powered handheld, backpack, and walk-behind leaf blowers…

Baltimore County has no leaf-blower-specific ban or hour restriction in its code. Gas leaf blowers must comply with…

Gaithersburg restricts lawnmowers, power tools and other power-driven labor-saving devices, the category that covers…

Anne Arundel County will stop buying, leasing, and using gas-powered handheld and backpack leaf blowers in its own…

Howard County has no dedicated leaf-blower ordinance. Section 8.900 expressly exempts lawn-care and snow-removal…

Prince George's County does not ban leaf blowers or set a special decibel cap for them. Lawn-care equipment is exempt…

Under City Code § 15-21.2(c)-(d), it's unlawful to play a radio, stereo, or other sound device loud enough to be…

Annapolis caps outdoor sound, including amplified music, at 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime in residential zones…

Anne Arundel County bans amplified music and other audio devices played at an unreasonably loud volume audible in a…

Loud amplified music from a home or party is banned as domestic noise under Baltimore County Code § 17-3-103 when it…

Carroll County bars playing a radio, television, amplified musical instrument, or any other audio device loudly enough…

Charles County's noise ordinance bars operating a sound amplifier or making noise that exceeds 60 dBA daytime and 50…

Gaithersburg's City Code makes it unlawful to play radios, stereos or television sets between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m…

Harford County Code § 193-8 bars amplified music from radios, sound systems, and instruments between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m…

Howard County has no separate amplified-sound permit, so loud music is judged against Section 8.900 and the COMAR…

Amplified outdoor sound, including live music, must stay within Montgomery County's noise-level caps: 65 dBA daytime…

Prince George's County treats any device that 'produces, reproduces, or amplifies sound' as a noise violation once it…

Outdoor musical festivals in unincorporated Wicomico County may not play music for more than four hours in any…

Anne Arundel County doesn't regulate aircraft noise directly, but it gives owner-occupied homes in the BWI Airport…

Aircraft noise is outside Charles County's Noise Control chapter entirely: Code § 260-4(A)(3) exempts aircraft and…

Howard County's noise ordinance does not regulate aircraft. Section 8.900(d)(7) exempts aircraft and related airport…

Prince George's County's noise ordinance does not reach aircraft at all: County Code § 19-123(b)(6) exempts 'aircraft…

Annapolis caps outdoor sound by zoning district and time of day: 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime in residential…

Anne Arundel County bars machines, tools, and other equipment from running at an unreasonably loud volume audible in a…

Baltimore County uses Maryland's statewide COMAR 26.02.03 decibel limits, measured at the receiving property line: 65…

Charles County caps ambient noise by the zoning of whoever receives it: Table 260-1 in Code § 260-3 allows 75 dBA…

Table 1 of City Code § 15-21.2(a) sets maximum ambient noise levels by receiving zoning district: 75 dBA day and night…

Howard County adopts COMAR 26.02.03 for industrial and commercial noise. Noise received on industrial property may not…

Montgomery County caps industrial and commercial noise at 67 dBA daytime and 62 dBA nighttime in non-residential noise…

Prince George's County caps ambient sound at fixed decibel levels that vary by zone and time of day, 65 dBA daytime and…

Rockville zoning bars loading and deliveries on lots next to homes from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. unless sound barriers cut…

Washington County's Zoning Ordinance caps industrial sound at a residential property line to 55 decibels continuous and…

Annapolis adopts Maryland's COMAR 11.14.07.02 through .12 as the City's own Motor Vehicle Noise Standards, covering…

Loud vehicles, revving engines, and modified exhaust in Baltimore County are governed by Maryland state motor-vehicle…

Carroll County does not regulate ordinary car stereos, mufflers, or engine brakes countywide, but it does limit…

Charles County exempts state-licensed motor vehicles on public roads from its general noise ordinance, but its zoning…

Gaithersburg bans operating a motor vehicle or motorcycle, or discharging noise from one, in a way that disturbs…

Montgomery County treats vehicle horns and motor-vehicle-mounted power equipment as noise disturbance examples under…

Motor vehicles on public roads are exempt from Prince George's County's noise ordinance because that noise is governed…